# Who are your favorite advice columnists? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 11, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054 "2005-03-11T17:57:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/1 "2005-03-11T17:57:59Z")
I’m a faithful reader of: Dan Savage’s potentially not-work-safe “[Savage Love](http://www.thestranger.com/current/savage.html)” in _The Stranger_. Margo Howard’s “[Dear Prudence](http://slate.msn.com/?id=3944&cp=3531)” on Slate. Carolyn Hax’s “[Tell Me About It](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/hax/)” in the _Seattle Post-Intelligencer_ (though she’s based at the registration-required [_Washington Post_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/style/columns/tellmeaboutit/)) Randy Cohen’s “[The Ethicist](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/magazine/06ETHICIST.html)” in the _New York Times Magazine_ (can’t find a general link for the column, sorry; also requires registration). I don’t always agree with any of them, but they’re almost always entertaining. You? ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/2 "2005-03-11T18:56:26Z")
Dan Savage, without a doubt. He’s practically the only reason I go to [theonion.com](http://theonion.com) anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/3 "2005-03-11T19:17:27Z")
Some friends of mine started one online about a year ago: [Smart & Sassy](http://smartandsassy.net/) That’s the only one I read daily. Aren’t we an awful lot like a giant advice column here? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/4 "2005-03-11T19:42:53Z")
Dan Savage is my favorite. He gets such weirdoes some weeks (for those of you unfamiliar with his work, Mr. Savage writes advice usually targeted to the sexually active, sometimes the \*extremely \* sexually active). I think I burnt someone’s brain a few weeks ago by linking to his column on grandmothers (not me!) having sex with their canaries. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/5 "2005-03-11T20:42:14Z")
> [@Interrobang!?](#): > > Margo Howard’s “[Dear Prudence](http://slate.msn.com/?id=3944&cp=3531)” on Slate. > Carolyn Hax’s “[Tell Me About It](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/hax/)” in the _Seattle Post-Intelligencer_ (though she’s based at the registration-required [_Washington Post_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/style/columns/tellmeaboutit/)) > Randy Cohen’s “[The Ethicist](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/magazine/06ETHICIST.html)” in the _New York Times Magazine_ (can’t find a general link for the column, sorry; also requires registration). All of the above – though I read Carolyn Hax via the _Washington Post_. I always forget to look for “Savage Love,” but just added the link you provided to my list of sites to look at daily. Thanks! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/6 "2005-03-11T20:59:06Z")
Miss Manners. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/7 "2005-03-11T21:03:09Z")
Another for Savage Love. Only one I read. ---
**Author:** ![Corii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Corii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corii)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/8 "2005-03-11T21:38:13Z")
Miss Manners Savage Love when I remember to grab a copy of _The Stranger_ ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/9 "2005-03-11T22:22:12Z")
I forgot about Miss Manners! :smack: Her column is on my personalized _Washington Post_ page along with Carolyn Hax’s, so I forgot to mention it. But I read her all of the time, too. ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/10 "2005-03-14T17:48:47Z")
I don’t read Miss Manners regularly. I tend to forget she’s online, and then every six months or so look up her page on the Post’s site and read all the columns that are available. Does anyone read Dear Abby anymore? I don’t, but I’m surprised she hasn’t come up at all. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/11 "2005-03-14T18:20:03Z")
I read Savage Love, Carolyn Hax’s Tell Me About It, and occasionally Dear Abby. The latter is usually out of boredom though, and not any real desire to see the column. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/12 "2005-03-14T21:01:59Z")
**Savage Love** is by far the best. (If you’re in Seattle, say a prayer for Seattle Weekly’s **Dategirl** , who is in waaay over her head.) I miss **Mr. Blue** , Garrison Keillor’s defunct advice column at [Salon.com](http://Salon.com). His replacement, Cary Tennis ( **Since you asked…** ), is sometimes interesting, but not enough to read faithfully. **Interrobang!?** , you would make a fine advice columnist yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/13 "2005-03-14T21:32:21Z")
> [@E. Thorp](#): > > His replacement, Cary Tennis ( **Since you asked…** ), is sometimes interesting, but not enough to read faithfully. It probably says something that I read him 4 days out of 5, yet didn’t think to include him in this thread until just now. And it says: I’m not that big a fan. Actually, I tend to find the people that write to him more interesting than his answers, and given how many paragraphs he devotes to his answers, that’s not ideal. On the other hand, he’s way better than “Dategirl.” Also online, [nerve.com](http://nerve.com)’s “Sex Advice From…” series can be really good, or really boring, but it depends who they’re asking for advice that week. The Donnas were pretty good, fashion models less so. Of course, it’s more funny than useful (not that I’ve submitted any questions…), even when it’s good. I won’t link directly, as Nerve is definitely not work apropos. > [@](#): > > **Interrobang!?** , you would make a fine advice columnist yourself. Woo hoo! A calling! ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/14 "2005-03-15T02:32:47Z")
> [@Interrobang!?](#): > > Does anyone read Dear Abby anymore? I used to, but I started finding her to be too conservative – sometimes even closed-minded. I sometimes feel that way about “Dear Prudence,” too, but not nearly as often. I thought of one more, which I just realized counts as an advice column: Sara Gebhardt’s “[Apartment Advisor](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/home/columns/apartmentadviser/)” in the _Washington Post_. It’s a Q&A column that deals with tenant/rental issues, and I’ve been renting for more than 10 years so I find it interesting. As the name implies, it is geared toward apartment living: I’ve moved on to renting townhouses, but there’s still applicable stuff in there (I was even quoted in her column once!). Sometimes, being a tenant is being a tenant. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/15 "2005-03-15T17:43:31Z")
[QUOTE=E. ThorpI miss **Mr. Blue** , Garrison Keillor’s defunct advice column at [Salon.com](http://Salon.com). His replacement, Cary Tennis ( **Since you asked…** ), is sometimes interesting, but not enough to read faithfully.[/QUOTE] The coolest thing about Cary’s column is the thread in Private Life in the Table Talk forum. The advice there is usually better than Cary’s plus sometimes the letter writers register and post to defend themselves and that’s really, really interesting. Other columnists I read are Savage Love, Miss Manners, Dear Prudence (usually just to piss myself off, I think sh’es horrible), and The Ethicist. I should start checkingout Carolyn Hax too… ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/16 "2005-03-16T02:45:58Z")
Another Dan Savage fan here. Moving this thread from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/17 "2005-03-16T03:02:59Z")
Well, other than Dan Savage, my fave has got to be [Dear Zettie](http://www.livejournal.com/community/dearzettie/). ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/18 "2005-03-16T05:01:39Z")
Those already mentioned that I make sure to catch: Savage Love Miss Manners Tell Me About It I also read: Tomato Nation, a very savvy relationship/grammar/cats/New York living/baseball advice column. When Breakup Girl was still dishing out regular advice, I was there every day, too. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/19 "2005-03-16T10:26:50Z")
Click & Clack. ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054/20 "2005-03-16T11:47:24Z")
Dan Savage is great (poor Rick Santorum) Beth O and Isaac the Bartender in FHM are surprisingly good as well (what? it was a free subscription!) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-advice-columnists/294054.md?page=2)